- Vibeesh Palliyali won Dh15 million Big Ticket jackpot after 15 years of monthly purchases
- He shares the prize with three others, receiving nearly Rs 10 crore (Dh4 million)
- Palliyali bought the winning ticket online on February 28 after friends’ insistence
Vibeesh Palliyali, a Sharjah-based pickup driver, has hit the Big Ticket Dh15 million jackpot after buying the raffle ticket every month for the last 15 years. Palliyali was on the road for a transport company when he received the life-changing call informing him of the win. With this win that he shares with three others, Palliyali will receive a little less than Rs 10 crore (Dh4 million) as prize money -- an amount that he will use to return to India to settle down.
"I had already bought one set of tickets for Dh1,000 on February 7 when I was travelling to India," Palliyali was quoted as saying by Khaleej Times.
"On February 28, my cousin and two of his friends called me asking to take a ticket with them. I tried telling them that I had already spent my budget this month, but they kept begging me. I took the ticket so as not to let them down. I purchased it at 8 pm online. That is the ticket that brought me luck."
As Big Ticket made the congratulatory call, Palliyali thought it was a routine reminder sent by the company to buy the ticket. However, the surprise left him speechless.
"Since I am a regular customer, I usually get a call from the company. But they usually call in the middle or the end of the month saying that there are offers on tickets. I wondered why they would call me at the beginning of the month in the evening."
Such was the intensity of the surprise that Palliyali even questioned the Big Ticket officials if they were pulling a prank on him.
"Afterwards, I called my wife and said that I got a call. She checked online immediately and then told me that my name was on the website as the winner."
'My Wife Would Complain'
Palliyali highlighted that buying the expensive ticket every month for the last 15 years was a challenge, especially on a driver's salary. Despite complaints from his wife, Palliyali said he kept up with the hobby, which has finally paid dividends.
"Many times, my wife would complain that she could use that money for other things. Some months, I wouldn't even tell her that I had bought the ticket."
Apart from moving to India, Palliyali stated that he intended to use the prize money to secure the future of his daughter, Vandana, currently studying in Bengaluru.
